Open something. Where can you quickly get money in a crisis. stage. We are looking for start-up capital

How to start your business from scratch if you have no money and experience? Where can I find a working business idea to start a project? What kind of business to start in order to get the first profit tomorrow?

Hello dear friends! In touch Alexander Berezhnov, entrepreneur and one of the founders of the HiterBober.ru business magazine.

Today we will talk about how to start your own business from scratch. Is it really possible to do it at all? I answer unequivocally - YES!

Here I will describe a step-by-step technology for starting a business, and give examples from my own business practice, as well as talk about the experience of my entrepreneur friends who started their own business without money and other material assets in the form of premises, equipment or goods.

You just have to study this material and apply the knowledge gained in life!

Ready? Then let's go!

1. Why is it better for beginners to open a business from scratch?

Dear readers, this section of the article is very important! I sincerely advise you to study it carefully. I guarantee you won't regret it.

Here, the key points for starting a business for beginners will be explained in terms of entrepreneurial psychology.

Before you start a new project, be sure to think about what your desire is due to.

Understand yourself and your motivation to open a business, and my little test, compiled in the form of two blocks of different beliefs, will help you with this.

For example, a great way for a beginner to start a business would be to sell popular, in-demand products from China.

Belief Block #1.

With what thoughts you SHOULD NOT start your own business:

  • How to quickly earn a lot to pay off debts?
  • The idea that I have in my head will definitely work, but I need money to implement it;
  • Am I worse than others? Here my neighbor is engaged in business and everything will also work out for me;
  • Tired of these fool bosses, tomorrow I quit and open my own business!

Yes, friends, business is more psychology than technology. I'll explain why a little later.

Belief Block #2.

Conversely, you are READY to start a business if you think like this:

  • I am very good at doing a business that is in demand by the “market”, and on its basis I want to open my own business;
  • I am aware that in the beginning large investments in a business are very risky, and only free money I can invest in a business, but I will not borrow it, since the risk of losing money without business experience is very high;
  • My business requires a lot of time, and in order to develop it, I must have a cash reserve or source of income until my project brings tangible income;
  • Having started my business, I will no longer have bosses and controllers who guide me in my work, and I need to become an organized person now enough to act independently and achieve success in entrepreneurship.

If you are dominated by beliefs from block number 1, do not rush to get into a fight. After all, most likely, such judgments indicate the emotionality of your decisions and underestimation of the risks that arise when starting your own business.

The beliefs that prevail in your head from block number 2 indicate that you are fully aware of what a business is and are going to take a responsible approach to its start and further development.

I already wrote above that business is basically psychology and only then - technology.

It is time to explain why this is so.

The thing is that our internal "cockroaches" and delusions prevent us from starting our project.

Here are just a few of the myths that hold back successful projects:

  1. Without money and connections, a business cannot be opened;
  2. Taxes will eat up all the profits;
  3. Bandits will take my business;
  4. I don't have a commercial streak.

Surely you are familiar with all these fears of beginners. In fact, if you overcome them, or rather, just score and do not think about all this nonsense, then your chances of success will increase MULTIPLE!

You can prepare documents for registering an LLC and an individual entrepreneur for free through the online service. At the exit, you will receive forms filled out without errors, which will be printed and submitted to the tax authority. So already at the first stage you save your money and time, insure yourself against the refusal of the Federal Tax Service, without delving into the complex language of the legislation.

2. How to start your business so as not to burn out - 10 iron rules!

Then I bought 2 terminals for receiving payments. You probably yourself have used the services of such terminals more than once when paying for a mobile phone. But this business cannot be called open from scratch, since at that time (2006) I invested about 250,000 rubles in it.

So, friends, perhaps you know both successful examples of business projects and examples where entrepreneurs with their “brainchild” failed.

By the way, basically everyone hears stories of great successes, but it’s not customary and even ashamed to talk about failures.

Like, here I am a fool, a loser, went bankrupt, lost money, got into debt. So what's now? And now there is nothing left to do, it remains to live on and step by step to get out of this situation.

So that you don’t end up in the place of this poor fellow, here are the simplest rules that will help you start a business with minimal risks and a greater chance of success.

How to start your business from scratch and not go broke - 10 iron rules:

  1. Never take loans to start a business if you have no experience;
  2. Before opening a business, take off your “rose-colored glasses” and ask yourself the question: “What will I lose if I fail” ?;
  3. Be prepared for different scenarios, consider both an optimistic scenario and a pessimistic one;
  4. In no case do not open a business with money intended for other strategic goals in your life (children's education, loan payments, medical treatment, etc.);
  5. Carefully study the market and your capabilities, that is, the resources you have to start your own business;
  6. Do not get involved with obscure or "super profitable" projects that require serious investments;
  7. If possible, talk to experienced entrepreneurs who are successful in business and take note of their advice;
  8. Start a business in a field you know;
  9. Plan the upcoming actions in writing and clearly articulate each stage that you have to go through to achieve the goal;
  10. Be optimistic and do not stop at the first difficulties!

3. How to start your own business from scratch - 7 easy steps using the example of a fictional aspiring entrepreneur Vasya Pupkin

For clarity, I propose to go through all 7 steps of the technology for organizing your business using the example of a fictitious entrepreneur, let his name be Vasily.

This is the hero of our story, who decided to open a business from scratch.

Step 1. Determine your value

Look, friends, I think you will agree that a business can be called an exchange of money for some value that you can give to your customers, that is, to solve their problem for money.

Let's say you're good at driving a car, or good at making beautiful designs on a computer, or maybe you have a talent for making DIY crafts - in all these cases, you have value that people are willing to pay for.

Let's get straight to the point and do a practical exercise that will help you start your business from scratch:

Exercise:

Grab a piece of paper and a pen, then write down a list of 10 things you feel you're better at.

Once this list is complete, consider what things you are good at that you really enjoy doing. Maybe you are currently doing this as a hobby.

The fact is that a person cannot do what he does not like for a long time, and business is a big creative process that requires you to be versatile in development, willpower and dedication.

For example, as a result of this exercise, you came to the conclusion that you like to teach something, explain, communicate with people and work with information, and most importantly, that you are good at it.

Then, by combining your abilities, you can become a private tutor, consultant or succeed in the network marketing industry.

This is a general principle.

So, Vasya lived...

Vasily decided to open a business, and responsibly approached this task.

Vasya made a list of his favorite activities and compared it with what he does best.

As a result of the exercise, our hero decided that he would be engaged in computer design, since he has been working for several years at DesignStroyProekt LLC in the city of Chelyabinsk, which develops interior design and then finishes the room according to a 3D project.

Vasily appreciated his strength and decided that he would become a private interior designer, he already had a number of completed projects, positive customer reviews and an impressive portfolio.

Vasya loved his work and sometimes even took it home, as there were a lot of orders from the company.

Even then, our hero realized that, in fact, he was engaged in entrepreneurial activity, only the company buys his services at a low price, and customers pay much more for the design development to the company.

Here Vasily realized that if he could find clients on his own, then he would not have to go to the office at all, and his initial investment in the business would be minimal. After all, his design skills themselves are, in fact, a business.

And so the idea came to our newfound entrepreneur to start a business.

While working in the company, Vasya even received a small percentage of completed projects, which means he could influence his income level.

Fortunately, he lived in a large city, where he had quite a few potential customers.

Step 2. We analyze the market and choose a niche for a future project

In order to understand whether your business will be successful, you need to conduct an appropriate analysis of the market in which you will sell your products or services.

So, Vasya decided not to rush and carefully prepared for a new life stage, which was called "free floating in the world of business."

During the few years that our designer worked for the company, he learned that there are about 10 similar companies in the market of his city, and they all provide similar services.

He asked his friend Pasha to go to these companies under the guise of a client and identify their strengths and weaknesses in order to further develop competitive advantages by working for himself.

After commercial intelligence, Pasha named a number of strengths and weaknesses of these companies. Pasha arranged these sides in a table so that it would be convenient for Vasya to compare them.

Strengths of Vasya's competitors:

  • the interior designer of these companies makes an inspection and measurement of the object for free;
  • all companies provide a discount on the subsequent finishing of the apartment;
  • 7 out of 10 companies give a client a gift certificate for a 30% discount when ordering a design project from them again;
  • managers of 9 out of 10 companies talk attentively with the client, correctly ascertaining his needs.

Weaknesses of Vasya's competitors:

  • 8 out of 10 companies try to oversell too many additional products and services on their first meeting with a customer. This causes his negative reaction;
  • the interior designer in all 10 companies, at the first conversation with a potential client, conducts a dialogue in a complex professional language using a large number of special terms;
  • 7 out of 10 companies charge extra for editing computer-aided design projects.

Taking into account all the above pros and cons of competitors, our hero Vasily decided to design the interiors of houses and apartments in his city at a lower price. Similar companies on the market provide these services more expensively, since they spent a lot of money on maintaining a workplace and paying taxes for an employee.

The cost of the services of our designer was now one and a half times lower with the proper quality of execution of design projects.

This completed the second step of building your business from scratch with Vasily Pupkin.

Step 3. Decide on the positioning of your business and draw up a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

In order for your customers to understand what exactly you offer them and what makes you unique, you will need to decide on your positioning. In other words, in what light will you present yourself to your client.

Let's return to our fictional character Vasily, who wanted to open his own business and was at the stage of developing an offer for the customer.

Vasya already had a good portfolio and a number of testimonials from satisfied clients, but how to show all this to your potential customers?

Then Vasya said to himself: "I'm a designer!", and decided to create his own website on the Internet.

Here he posted his portfolio, reviews, information about himself and his experience, as well as his contacts, so that a potential client could easily contact him.

Vasily also formulated his Unique Selling Proposition (USP) *, which sounded as follows: “Creating the interior design of your dreams for a reasonable price. Creative. Brightly. Practical."

So Vasya began to position himself as a professional designer who, at an adequate cost, develops a good quality product for people with an average income level.

Step 4. We draw up an action plan (business plan)

In order to launch your business and avoid many problems, you need to be prudent and try to put your idea and action plan on paper in as much detail as possible.

You can briefly write down the main stages that you have to go through to organize and launch your project. Draw diagrams and drawings, make explanations for them.

Correctly, this stage of starting your business from scratch is called business planning. This is your instruction, following which, the chances of success are greatly increased.

I already wrote in one of the previous articles, be sure to check it out.

Now back to our hero Vasily, who decided to become an entrepreneur and quit his job. Vasily has long wanted to open a business without investments, because he did not want to risk money. He understood that without proper experience, such an experiment could end badly and lead to loss of money.

As a result, Vasya decided that his actions would consist of 3 simple stages with subtasks and look like this:

  1. Create your own website with portfolio, reviews and contacts;
  2. Post your portfolio online on sites for remote workers;
  3. Inform the immediate environment about your new project (friends, acquaintances and relatives).

Stage 2. Getting the first orders

  1. Sign contracts and receive advance payments from customers;
  2. Fulfill orders;
  3. Get feedback and recommendations from the customer, add work to the portfolio.

Stage 3. Dismissal from work

  1. Write a letter of resignation;
  2. Work out the required 2 weeks, complete work projects and transfer cases;
  3. Agree on the supply of customers for repair and finishing work to contractors.

Now he was fully prepared for the first practical steps to transform himself from an employee into an individual entrepreneur.

Step 5. We advertise our project and find the first clients

In order to find the first customers, when you already have an offer for your services, you must first notify your acquaintances, friends and relatives. Tell them that from now on you are engaged in such and such an activity, and also try to conclude the first contracts with them.

If at the moment your services are not relevant for them, ask them for contacts of people to whom they could recommend you.

It's no secret that for a large audience coverage and automatic self-presentation, you just need to create a website for yourself.

In the meantime, the hero of our business story, Vasily, did not sit idle and developed a personal website for himself, created groups on social networks, notified the environment about the services he provided, and sent out commercial offers to his potential clients.

The first orders have arrived...

Step 6. Launching a business, earning the first money and building a brand

Having completed all the previous steps, you gradually approached the most interesting stage - the first orders, and therefore the first profits.

  • Isn't that what we strived for when we became entrepreneurs!?
  • “How to make money by starting your business from scratch?” Isn't that the question we asked ourselves?

If you show due perseverance and follow my recommendations, then you will certainly succeed. Just believe in yourself and do not give up ahead of time, be prepared for difficulties, because they will be, I tell you for sure.

So, our Vasily received and completed the first orders. As usual, he did it with his usual professionalism. The designer understood that it was not enough just to earn money, because he already knew how to do it at his office job in the company.

Possessing a strategic vision, Vasily decided that in order to develop his business and increase the value of his services, he needed to develop a name for himself, or, as they say in business circles, a reputation.

Earn yourself a name that will help you earn everything else!

folk wisdom

To do this, Vasya did not just sit at home and watch TV, but methodically engaged in self-education, attended thematic exhibitions and seminars, went to creative parties of designers and entrepreneurs, where he could find potential customers and meet new partners.

A few months later, Vasya established a reputation as an experienced and punctual professional in the field of interior design. The average cost of his order was growing, and clients came to him already on the recommendations of their friends, to whom Vasya provided high-quality design services.

Step 7. Analyze the results and expand the project

When your business began to bring tangible income, regular customers appeared, and you began to be recognized in the business and professional sphere, it's time to sum up the intermediate results of work and outline new horizons. Simply put, it's time to expand your project in order to increase profits and your own "weight" (your name) in the chosen business area.

Vasily did the same, he analyzed his results, income, outlined possible ways to expand the business.

As a result, our designer drew up a new business plan.

Now Vasily could hire assistants for himself, who performed all the routine operations for him. Our entrepreneur opened his own interior design studio named after Vasily Pupkin. In it, he was now the leader and art director.

Thus, having gone from a novice designer and company employee, our now big boss Vasily proved to everyone by his own example that it is realistic to open a business from scratch and this does not require cosmic sums, and even more so loans that inexperienced entrepreneurs like to take.

Dear readers, perhaps someone will say that this is a fictional story and the issues of registering a company, proper negotiation with customers, legal issues and other subtleties are not disclosed here in detail.

Yes, this is true, but trust me, if you take these simple 7 steps as a basis, then starting a business for you will turn into an exciting journey that you will remember for a very long time. And as an experienced entrepreneur, you will share your practical knowledge with beginners.

I will say that I personally managed to open a business according to the described model.

I wish you good luck and I am sure that by approaching the beginning of your own project responsibly, after a while you will be doing what you love and getting paid for it.

Below you will find working business ideas for starting your own business from scratch, as well as real entrepreneurial stories about how my friends and I started our own business.

4. Things to do to Start Your Business from Scratch - Top 5 Business Ideas

The following business ideas will help you get started in business and feel like an entrepreneur in practice.

Some ideas will be related to making a profit with the help of the Internet, others will not.

You just have to choose the type of business you like and start diving into it.

Business idea number 1. Business with China

The sale of trendy goods from China is now a very relevant area.

You can sell such goods by pre-purchasing them directly in China via the Internet, through social networks, one-page sites and message boards.

I have my friend Alexei in Moscow, a retail and wholesale business of Chinese goods. At first it was watches, various “cool things”, things for the home.

Now this business brings him clean 350,000 rubles per month.

His scheme is simple and consists of 5 steps:

  1. Choosing the right product and testing.
  2. Buying goods in bulk in China.
  3. Advertising this product over the Internet in many ways.
  4. Sending the ordered goods to the buyer by courier in Moscow or a transport company in Russia.
  5. Scale your business and reward yourself.

And once Aleksey worked as a taxi driver and, as far as I know, he started with a debt of 30,000 rubles.

Its success lies in the study of the necessary information, you can start by watching a free webinar by Evgeny Guryev, an expert on the topic of Business with China, and then take the first steps to put this idea into practice.

Here is what Evgeny says about doing business with China - 3 topical issues:

If you want to start an effective online business selling popular goods from China, visit an expert in starting this type of business.

You will learn step-by-step information for starting a business right now.

Business idea number 2. Consulting and training

If you know how to do something well, then there will surely be many who want to learn from your experience and knowledge.

Nowadays, online learning is especially popular. This is where you can find hundreds and even thousands of people who are willing to pay you.

For example, I have a friend Alexei, he lives with me in the same city of Stavropol and teaches foreign languages. A few years ago, Lyosha had to go to his students at home or invite them to his home. Now the situation has changed radically, everything has become much easier.

With the advent of the Internet, my friend began to teach people English and German via Skype. I myself used his services for a year. During this time, I managed to learn English from scratch to a conversational level. As you can see, it works.

You can also start your own home based business from scratch teaching or advising people over the Internet.

Nowadays, many lawyers, accountants and teachers earn good money in this way. But there is an even more advanced option for making money on your knowledge, it consists in creating and selling your own training courses via the Internet.

To make a profit in this way you need:

  • choose a topic in which you understand;
  • write a training course on it;
  • start advertising this course online in many ways and earn income from sales

The advantage of this type of business is that you record your course once and sell it multiple times.

In general, the sale of information on the Internet in the form of methods and guidelines is called infobusiness. You can also open it and make it your main source of income.

Business idea number 3. Earnings with the help of the social network Twitter (Twitter)

Today, almost every person has their own profile in any of the social networks. But few people know that here, in addition to entertainment and communication, you can earn good money.

One of these opportunities is the usual for many Twitter - a social network for exchanging short messages up to 140 characters.

Ordinary people spend their time and money here, while smarter people have turned this social network into their source of permanent income.

It's no secret that wherever people hang out, there is money.

After all, our Internet users are an active solvent audience. So why don't you get some of their money. Moreover, it is absolutely legal and does not require outstanding knowledge.

It is enough just to make a few RIGHT actions and get the first profit. We have previously written about how to start your own business on Twitter and earn income comparable to the average salary in Russia. Read our article "" and implement the methods described in it.

Business idea number 4. We are engaged in mediation - we earn on Avito.ru

Earnings with the help of electronic bulletin boards is the easiest and most affordable for most people.

You are required to have minimal computer knowledge, a few hours a day and a desire to work for yourself.

With the help of sites that specialize in posting free ads, you can build your very profitable business.

This can be done in 3 steps:

  1. Find what to sell
  2. Place an ad on the site
  3. Get a call from a buyer and sell a product

As a site for placing ads for sale, we will use the most popular Avito board (avito.ru).

Hundreds of thousands of ads are posted here every day, and the active audience of the site has tens of millions of users.

Can you imagine how many potential buyers for your product can be found here?!

First, you can start here by selling unnecessary things that you have at home, and then post ads for the sale of goods and services that you don’t even have in stock.

Do not believe that this is possible and want to know how it's done?

I myself tried to earn quick money with the help of Avito, I won’t say that I became a millionaire, but I managed to earn several thousand rubles in a week.

Business idea number 5. Grow from an employee to a business partner

If you are currently employed, it is not necessary to quit your job and start your own business. You can do this within the company you work for.

If your company is not too big, and you are one of the key specialists there, then under certain conditions you can get a share in the company's business. This will allow you not only to receive a salary, but to become a full-fledged managing partner on a par with the current owner - your main manager.

This is possible if you can directly influence the increase in the company's profits by your actions.

Become an indispensable specialist and it is quite possible that the owner of the company himself will offer you to become his business partner.

This method is offered by the legendary Russian entrepreneur Vladimir Dovgan. Yes, you will have to work hard here, but on the other hand, you will become a co-owner of an already operating company without any risks and really from scratch.

Dovgan himself cites as an example a guy who became a co-owner of a large chain of restaurants in Moscow, and before that he was a simple cook in one of the restaurants.

This young man really liked what he was doing, he was professional in cooking and courteous with the guests of the institution.

The owners, seeing his passion for work, first promoted him to a restaurant manager, and then offered him a share in the business for developing their network of restaurants and training staff.

I don’t remember the name of this person, but now he has become a dollar millionaire, without actually opening his own business, but starting to develop someone else’s.

This is also a good way to start your own business, especially if you have a good career in a small or medium commercial company.

Business idea number 6. Building your business online

If you are good at computers, know how to create Internet projects, or at least understand the principles of their functioning, then you should consider the Internet as a way to start your business from scratch.

There are two main ways to start an online business:

1. Freelance. This is the business of providing paid services to you over the Internet. If you have professional skills, such as drawing beautiful designs, writing texts professionally, or knowing programming languages, then you can easily make money on the global web. More precisely, it can rather be called work for yourself. Although successful freelancers earn from 500 before 10 000 dollars per month.

You can start earning in this way on the popular exchanges for freelancers Freelance (fl.ru) and Workzilla (workzilla.ru).

2. Classic business on the Internet. It is not so easy to build a full-fledged online business on your own, it is best to follow the beaten path.

To do this, just read my article. There I talked about how you can make money on games, on social networks, on selling information from 50,000 rubles a month and gave examples of real people who are already doing this.

This concludes my review of business ideas. I hope that they will help you get moving and start earning your first money.

5. My own experience of starting a business from scratch in the service industry

As I wrote earlier, I opened my first business at the age of 19 - it was a vending business (terminals for accepting payments). Yes, it took money. Then I had several more projects. All of them had nothing to do with the Internet.

And so, about 3 years ago, my current friend and business partner Vitaliy and I opened our own website creation studio without a penny. We ourselves learned to make Internet projects literally on the go, but in the end, after a few months, we earned about 500,000 rubles at our website creation studio.

Naturally, I often had to work with legal entities that transferred payment for services by bank transfer. To do this, you had to either open your own company or work through someone.

We chose the second way, having agreed with our current business partner Evgeny Korobko. Zhenya is the founder and head of his own advertising agency. I interviewed him, you can read him in an article about, the material is published on our website.

Our first clients were familiar entrepreneurs.

We approached our business responsibly, and fulfilled orders with soul. Soon the word-of-mouth effect kicked in as our satisfied customers started recommending us to their friends.

This allowed us to get a continuous flow of customers, and sometimes we even could not cope with orders. This experience helped us to believe in ourselves, and today we have a complete picture in our head of how to start a business from scratch and make it successful.

I want to note that with the development of information technology in the world, your sales market today is the whole planet!

There are no more distances, any information is available, and now starting a business is much easier than even some 10 years ago.

I hope that all the materials in this article will help you take the first step towards your dream - your own business, which will eventually turn from a small home project into a huge company with a worldwide reputation.

Therefore, dear readers, I assure you, everything is in your hands, just act, because the city takes courage!

6. The real story of how my friend Misha worked as a security guard and became a businessman

Here is one of my favorite stories about a real entrepreneur who started a business from scratch. After all, I promised in the article to give examples from life.

Do you want to know how Mikhail became an entrepreneur from a laborer, opened, bought a foreign car and an apartment?

A few years ago, my friend Mikhail worked wherever possible: as a laborer at a construction site, as a loader, and as a security guard.

In a word, he was engaged in not the most monetary and intellectual work. It all started with the fact that my friend was guarding a company selling building materials. One day a client came to them who wanted to buy a large batch of building insulation, but it was not in the assortment.

Misha knew that literally 100 meters from the company he was guarding, there was another hardware store where there was definitely such a heater. Taking a contact from a potential client, he went to this store in the evening and agreed that he would bring them a large client if they would give him a percentage of the purchase made from them. The management of this store agreed and Misha worked as a freelance sales manager, earning about 30 000 rubles for just one trade (recommendation).

And it was an amount equal to his monthly salary!

Mikhail thought that this was an interesting business, and the financial result of the transaction gave him confidence. So he quit his job and started by negotiating with various firms that he would sell their products. Since Misha already worked as a laborer and security guards in a construction company, he also chose construction goods for sale: windows, doors, fittings, roofing, and so on.

My friend just walked around the construction sites of the city and offered his goods. Some were bought from him, some not. As a result, Mikhail formed an assortment of the most popular goods and understood how to properly negotiate with foremen at construction sites.

After 2 years, Mikhail opened his own company selling building materials and connected his brother to this business. Prior to that, his brother Kostya worked at Gorgas and received the usual small salary. Now the guys are quite successful in sales and earn good money.

By the way, I have been to their office more than once and have known Misha for several years. He told me this story himself.

Conclusion:

By opening a business from scratch, you avoid the risk of losing money, and this is the most important thing. Also, starting without material resources teaches you to make better decisions in order to earn money. After all, if you manage to make a profit without investing, then with money you can even become a successful entrepreneur.

See you in the next articles and good luck in your business!

How to start your own business without investing money - 7 proven business ideas of 2018 for beginners and aspiring entrepreneurs

One of the major recruitment portals conducted a survey of its users on the topic of what they think about the opportunity to open their own business. It turned out that only 2% of respondents did not attend such an idea. More than half think about it periodically, 23% tried to bring the idea to life, but unsuccessfully, and only 9% really developed their business.

To the question - "What stops you from starting your own business?" - respondents answered as expected:

  • lack of start-up capital;
  • misunderstanding of business processes;
  • lack of a working idea that is guaranteed to bring profit;
  • high taxes, bureaucratic difficulties, problems with government agencies;
  • unwillingness to take risks associated with doing business.

Indeed, owning a business is a risk. Even in the law, entrepreneurial activity is called risky, because. in its conduct, you can not only lose your investments, but also acquire a debt to the state, employees and partners. Working for someone in this regard looks like a much more stable undertaking. This stability alone is the price you pay for the added value you create for your employer, and it is often much higher than what you are compensated in the form of a salary.

True, you can leave your own business with a minus, which is why the question arises - is it possible to start a business without quitting? It is possible, moreover, according to the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Russia, about 40% of business owners do just that - they combine work for hire and running their own business.

Administrative issues when combining work and business

To begin with, let's figure out whether the law allows you to combine work and your own business. Frequently Asked Questions from New Business Owners:

  • is it possible to open an LLC while working officially;
  • is it possible to open an individual entrepreneur if officially employed;
  • Is it possible to work in a state institution and have your own business.

We answer - in most cases, the law does not establish prohibitions on such a combination. You do not have to inform your employer about starting your own business. But there is an exception - if you are a manager at your main job, then when you open your LLC, in which you intend to work yourself, you need to obtain the consent of the owner of the employer organization (Article 276 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, a ban on self-employment may be established by your employment contract.

As for work in state institutions, a ban on their own business has been unequivocally established for civil servants, military personnel, judges, and police officers. Other employees of state structures cannot start their own business only if they fall under the restrictions established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 21, 2012 No. 841.

Thus, or OOO. The opposite is also true - the founder of an LLC or a person registered as an individual entrepreneur can work in a hired job if such a need arises.

What is the difference between the IP format and business organization in the form of a firm? We examined this issue in great detail in the article ""? Here we present only the most important differences.

IP Features

LLC features

Full responsibility for the obligations of the individual entrepreneur, including property acquired before state registration or not used in business

Liability within the authorized capital of the LLC, but the founder may be held subsidiary liable if it is proved that his actions or inaction led to the bankruptcy of the company

Simple registration, state duty - 800 rubles, psimple and fast tax deregistration

More documents to submit to the IFTS, state duty - 4000 rubles, liquidation of an LLC is long and complicated

It is easy to manage the money received from entrepreneurial activities

You can receive income only in the form of dividends and salaries if you work in your company under an employment contract

To help you prepare documents for business registration on your own, we have prepared two articles:

And a few words about business taxes. The state gives small businesses the opportunity to choose the lowest possible tax burden. For example, the tax rate on the STS Income is two times lower than the income tax rate on wages. And individual entrepreneurs who meet the conditions for granting tax holidays are generally exempt from paying tax for two years after registration. There is no need to unfoundedly believe that taxes in Russia are unbearable for business, see for yourself using calculation examples that it is possible to significantly reduce payments to the budget by legal methods.


  1. Don't give up on your main job. Combining work and business is not a reason to start treating your work responsibilities worse. The current employer is a guarantee of your financial stability, a kind of sponsor of your business experiments, even if he does not know about it. Be grateful for it and continue to do well what you are paid to do.
  2. Learn to plan your time. Do you feel like you have absolutely no free time for your own business? What if you search? Can you honestly confirm that around the clock, not counting the time for sleep, you work in a tense rhythm? If you devote 2 hours to your business on weekdays and 5 hours on weekends, then 80 hours a month will be typed, and this is two full-fledged working weeks! Learn the basics of time management, keep track, write down every day what you have done to develop your business.
  3. Learn to communicate. In business, it is often not the one who is smarter or who can offer a unique product or service that succeeds, but the one who knows how to convey value to the consumer. To do this, you need to be able to communicate - advertise your business, negotiate with partners, convince customers and customers, provide quality service. No sales experience - start by selling something on Avito. You have never been an intermediary - go to any real estate office and become a rental agent, at least for a week. If you know how to do something with your own hands - advertise services. Your goal is not to start working at a second job after the main one, but in practice to independently integrate into the chain of commodity-money relations. Get at least a one-time small amount not in the accounting department of your organization, but from a real buyer or client.
  4. Develop an entrepreneurial mindset. If all your conscious life you have only been fulfilling the tasks set by others (a teacher at school, a teacher at a university, a boss at work), then it is quite difficult to stop waiting for someone's instructions and start acting on your own. Study the experience of successful entrepreneurs, there is no shortage of such information now. Join some business community, communicate on forums and groups in social networks. This kind of environment really changes your consciousness. On someone's example, you will understand what difficulties you will face when doing business, and with what perseverance others are moving towards the goal. And not only - you can peep a good business idea and see other people's success stories. And this is very motivating!
  5. Look for your business idea. There are hundreds and thousands of business ideas, but all of them can be divided into three groups: services, trade, production. The service idea is the least expensive to launch, but the successful completion of a trade transaction can immediately bring you a large sum. If your choice is manufacturing, then look for a unique product for this, which has a high final value, or one that can be sold at a high margin.
    Choose ideas that look simple and clear to you. It doesn't have to be related to your profession. It may be your hobby or a direction in which you yourself, as a consumer, have felt a lack of supply. For example, one of the visitors to the passport office encountered difficulties in filling out forms and saw that there were many like him. The result is an office for automated filling of documents opened in a neighboring building.

    As a user, you can get our books on the development of various business areas: a retail store, a beauty salon, a wholesale trade, a cafe. We are preparing to publish a book on opening a law firm and an online store.

  6. Explore your business idea from the inside. It's great if you can actually learn the whole process that leads to satisfying the customer's needs and making money. If you want to open a cafe, get a job at such a point as a waiter for the weekend. Attracts a taxi service - work for some time in someone's company on a free schedule. A good option is to study the offers of the franchisee, albeit not in the chosen, but in a related field. Ask all the questions that interest you, ask for examples of calculations of real business cases.
    Study the business plans of your idea, they can be found in the public domain or for little money on the Internet. Even if they do not seem convincing to you, the description of business processes will still bring you closer to understanding what and how you should do. If a business of the chosen direction operates in your city, become its client, just evaluate the situation not in terms of consumer satisfaction, but how you can make money on it.
  7. Calculate how much money you need to implement your business idea. If you are not starting your own business just because you do not have start-up capital, then think maybe this is just an excuse? Do you know exactly, in real prices, how much money you need? Are you sure that without experience in business, you can start a business that requires serious expenses? Maybe we should postpone this super-idea for the future, and first try to earn more modest amounts? Remember that starting a business on borrowed money or on the last money is very, very risky!
    Do you know that if you have about half of the required amount, then you have a chance to receive up to 500 thousand rubles from the state for the development of the business? Yes, for this you need to draw up a business plan and defend its viability before the commission, but if you are sure that only money is not enough to implement your idea, then you can be persuasive.
  8. Minimize your opening costs. Review the cost estimate again and think about where you can save. Can't do without equipment, transport, industrial real estate? Consider the option or rent, do not seek to immediately acquire everything you need for the business in the property. Do you think that you can only sell goods that you purchased with your own money? This is not so - you can negotiate with the manufacturer for a commodity loan or integrate into the wholesale and commodity chain as a sales agent.
    It is enough just to cut organizational costs. Believe me, most startups work great without an office, a secretary, employees. It is necessary to hire workers only when it is impossible to do without it - a seller in a store, for example. The obligations of an employer under an employment contract are quite complex. It is necessary not only to pay salaries twice a month and transfer insurance premiums for the employee, but also to submit reports for them. Dismissing such an employee without his consent is also not easy. But many of the functions necessary to run your business can be entrusted to freelancers or remote workers. To do this, it is enough to conclude with them.
    Another option is service outsourcing. You do not need to hire an accountant, a lawyer, a sales agent, a driver, a courier, a telephone operator, and many other specialists. Employees of specialized services will perfectly cope with this, moreover, you can order only the necessary amount of services from them. To help you and various online services, for example, online accounting from and.
  9. Establish strict financial discipline for yourself. Sooner or later, your business will take more and more time, and you will have to leave work. Give up all unnecessary expenses for a while. Form a financial airbag - an amount sufficient to cover the necessary expenses for at least six months. Don't spend on yourself the money that starts to come out of the business, keep investing it in the business until you realize that you can painlessly withdraw a certain monthly amount.
  10. Be prepared for failure. Your first business can also be successful, but, most often, for a successful start, you need to make several attempts. How many do you need in your case? Only you can answer this from your own business experience. And remember, the most offensive thing is to understand after a shock work shift for someone for 30-40 years that you have not even tried to really change your life, although there were opportunities for this.

Do not forget that in our time in business it is not so important the amount of capital as the original idea. And if you are looking for her, it means that the first step towards your favorite business has already been taken. An idea can come to mind at any time, in any place and in any environment. Of course, the easiest way to implement your business ideas is based on real successful examples. So, consider the most popular business ideas.

Business Idea #1

If you are a hairdresser, manicurist or makeup artist by profession, then a great solution would be to provide these services at home or travel to clients. All this requires tools, a health book, moderate pricing and, of course, advertising.

Business Idea #2

Making homemade cookies, birthday cakes, gingerbread, etc. to order at home. You don't have to be a professional chef to do this. Here we need high-quality and proven recipes, good advertising (clients themselves do it perfectly).

Business idea 3

Organization and decoration of birthdays (including children's), parties, weddings. It is important to be a fairly creative person, constantly keep up with the times.

Business idea 4

Trade in flowers and creation of original bouquets. Remember how many holidays there are in the year, which are almost always complete without flowers. It will be nice if you take floristry courses, of which there are a lot today. By the way, some of the flowers can not only be purchased from wholesalers, but also simply grown on your own (unless, of course, you have a place for this).


Photo: Depositphotos

Business idea 5

Production of natural soaps and cosmetics under the order. Such products are a very popular and original gift today. You can learn this business on your own, you just need to study the numerous sites on the Internet dedicated to the manufacture of these products. In this case, you will need good advertising and the utmost accuracy.


Photo: Depositphotos

Business idea 6

Creation of jewelry and souvenirs from beads, etc. in the style of hand made. Such things are in good demand among all categories of the population, and almost every house has such gizmos. You can take courses from a specialist or work out on your own using all kinds of online resources.

Business idea 7

If you have a higher pedagogical education, this will allow you to engage in tutoring. You will be able not only to teach your subject to high school students, but also to comprehensively prepare the child for the first grade.

Business idea 8

Home atelier for repair and tailoring. Here you will need the necessary tools, skills and desire to work. And don't forget about good self-promotion!

Business idea 9

Not a single wedding is complete without beautiful invitations, and it is customary to give postcards for almost any holiday. Handcrafting original and interesting invitations is a great idea. There are many different video tutorials on the Internet on this topic. For promotion, you can select a small area on the product and place your company logo and coordinates there. You will need a minimum of tools to bring the idea to life: a computer, a printer, consumables (ribbons, beads, beads, paper), a soldering gun.

Business idea 10

Cosmetics trade. Lots of firms like Oriflame and Avon will help you run your business by providing internships and training.

Looking for an answer to the question of how to start your own business from scratch? Read our practical recommendations and be financially independent.

Many people are dissatisfied with their work, bosses, working conditions, salary.

And now those who want cardinal changes in their lives, over time, begin to ask themselves in search of an answer to the question: how to start a business from scratch.

But not everyone can realize this idea.

Someone lacks desire, someone lacks knowledge and support, and someone, corny, start-up capital.

But still, it is so important that thoughts about starting your own business remain not just dreams, but begin to turn into concrete actions.

Therefore, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with our recommendations that will help you deal with this issue.

How to start a business from scratch and what is the situation in the business?

First of all, it is worth saying a few words about the situation that has developed in the field of small business and individual entrepreneurship.

  • personal funds and savings;
  • credit;
  • investors.

The most optimal source of start-up capital is own funds and savings.

If at the moment there is extra money and the whole organization of the future business has already been thought out, then you can start implementing the idea at any desired time.

If these are not, then they will have to be earned.

There are two options here - sell unnecessary property or earn money and accumulate it.

Therefore, in this matter, you need to rely on your patience, because it will take some time to receive the required amount.

If we talk about credit, then it will always be associated with risks, especially for beginners.

Features of the loan are as follows:

  • registration of liquid collateral (real estate, car);
  • it is necessary to hire an expert who can evaluate the collateral;
  • making insurance payments;
  • monthly pay the body and interest of the loan;
  • if the case “burns out”, you can lose the property that was pledged.

Based on the above, a loan is not just a return of the funds taken and interest, but also a strong emotional burden on a novice businessman.

And this is not the best way to get money for beginners who decide to start their own business from scratch.

The third option for obtaining start-up capital involves the search for investors.

In order to reach them, you need to look for intermediaries who are engaged in start-ups, and specifically, crowdfunding.

To do this, you must put together a compelling business plan and be willing to share your earnings with your investor.

A few practical tips for everyone who wants to start their own business from scratch:

    If at the moment there is no start-up capital, as well as a desire to take funds on credit, then it is better to earn them, but there is a desire to start a business from scratch, we suggest you get a job related to your planned business.

    Firstly, you will receive a reward from which you can save the amount you need, and secondly, you will get to know the “kitchen” from the inside.

    If your business is not particularly tied to the office, then save on it.

    Business meetings can be held on neutral territory - restaurants, rented meeting rooms.

  1. Promote your business on the Internet, namely in social networks.
  2. Do not neglect the detailed preparation of a business plan.

    This is the foundation of the business, and the slightest mistake can cost the entire amount of capital.

    It's better to factor in large expenses or include an item with unexpected costs.

    When drawing up a business plan, many advise starting with a profit calculation.

    Thus, you can immediately determine the scope of the business.

    To start your business from scratch, use your connections.

    Firstly, it will help promote your business, and secondly, perhaps in this way you will find future partners.

  3. Calculate several forecasts at once: profit, break-even and losses.

So, if you're thinking, how to start a business from scratch, you must understand that this is not an easy job that can be done in the shortest possible time.

In addition to a great desire, you must have patience, because it will take time to receive start-up capital for starting a business, as well as the profit itself.

Communicate with people, study the basics of economics, follow the law, and you will succeed.

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The failures of novice entrepreneurs are most often based on typical mistakes. The study of business failures at the start and the analysis of the causes of this phenomenon showed that in most cases gross blunders are made. They can be avoided. We bring to your attention the TOP of the most common mistakes of novice entrepreneurs.

Break-even point not defined

You will be surprised how many people start a business without doing the basic calculations and determining how many products or services you need to sell to break even. But it is one of the most important markers and indicators of business viability.

The break-even point is determined by elementary calculations. Add up all current expenses for the month. The break-even point is reached if your profits cover all costs. This is the minimum you have to earn. If, according to forecasts for several months, it is unrealistic to reach such a level of income, it is better to abandon this business.

Conclusion: You can not invest money (loan or savings) in a business idea if you do not have a complete and clear financial analysis.

Illusions about the perfect start

Many start-ups rely on a reference business - they purchase high-tech equipment, rent a chic office in a central area, organize an elite restaurant, etc. In itself, striving for an ideal is highly commendable, but in practice we record massive examples of bankruptcy of ambitious projects. After analyzing the causes, two main errors appear:

  • The service or product was not in demand. If there is no demand in a particular region or city, a chic office will not help.
  • Improper distribution of capital. Example. The young enterprise invested the lion's share of the start-up capital in the acquisition of high-tech equipment, leaving no necessary reserve for the purchase of raw materials and other current expenses. The first months of work did not give the expected profits. The result - to pay off debts had to sell equipment.

Conclusion: Make sure your products or services will be in demand. Do not rush to invest large amounts, create a small business with minimal investment and test the viability of your idea in practice.

Lack of professionalism and love for their work

Do you smile skeptically? In vain. Explore success stories in Russia and around the world. You will not find a single example of a profitable business whose owner does not understand the essence of his field or is not in love with his business. Regular reports on economic development show the most profitable directions. Do not believe in the importance of love for the chosen field and passion for your work, choose the most promising area and start. You will see from your own experience that this is a road to nowhere. But we see a lot of examples when businessmen, in love with their product or service, achieved outstanding results, despite the pessimistic forecasts of experts and the misunderstanding of others.

Conclusion: You must love your job and be the best specialist in it. This is the main ingredient for success.

“Step by step business organization plan”

Quite often one has to observe the chaotic movements of novice businessmen and the complete lack of action planning. But the creation plan is extremely important. If you do not have knowledge in this area and do not know what stages the creation of a business consists of, we offer you a plan that is suitable for any area.

Stage 1. We are looking for an idea

This is the first thing to start with. If you can't come up with an idea, you shouldn't be entrepreneurial. But first, it’s worth understanding the terminology and making sure that you and I equally understand the meaning of the expression “business idea”. We are not talking about a brilliant and innovative idea that can revolutionize an entire industry. We are talking about ideas that are already working, but you see that it can be done better and provide consumers with a better service. We are not talking about large-scale projects, you can start a business with little or no investment.

A true entrepreneur sees the opportunity in the challenges they face on a daily basis.

A simple example. How is garbage disposal in your city? Yes, this is a very serious problem, but for you, this is an opportunity to organize a profitable waste collection and recycling business. Now it is one of the most promising areas.

Are you into needlework? Sell ​​your products online, there is a huge demand for handmade items. Do you have a cottage or a small plot at your disposal? Grow and sell greens or vegetables - this is very much in demand. Interesting ideas right in front of your eyes, choose any one you have a penchant for.

Stage 2. We analyze the market

You should have several preferred ideas in reserve. Now you need to evaluate each of them for relevance. Conduct a survey, observe the situation in your city or region, read analytics. If your idea is in demand, evaluate the closest competitors. Objectively evaluate the pros and cons of their work, think about what you can do better. Compare everything: quality and service, assortment, prices. Soberly assess your capabilities and work out your advantages as carefully as possible.

If you have come to the conclusion that your product or service is really needed, that you can compete with existing companies, proceed to the next step.

Stage 3. Planning

The preparation of a business plan must be approached with the utmost seriousness. The majority ignores this stage and orders the writing of a business plan to specialists only if it is necessary to attract investments. But this is a big mistake. A clear and realistic plan is what you need first of all. Do not buy ready-made business plans - they are useless.

Write down everything you need for a successful start, and plan your current expenses for the next six months. In the future, try to stick to your planned expenses, but create a reserve fund just in case. Based on the costs, you will be able to determine the break-even point and start pricing. In the process of organizing and developing a business, try to check the plan as often as possible and analyze the reasons for deviations, if any.

Stage 4. We are looking for start-up capital

There are options in which a business is created without money or with minimal investment. But, as a rule, a certain amount is still needed to start. By writing a business plan, you have already determined how much money you need. Add at least 20% to this amount immediately. So you will get more or less the real size of the required start-up capital. Start searching.

Great if you have the required amount. Starting with a loan is strongly discouraged. Look for options with franchises and small business assistance programs, attract partners with money or investors, try to find additional income, but do not take a loan.

Stage 5 Registering a business

Do not even hope that you will be able to work without registration. If you do not understand the intricacies of registration and find it difficult to choose the form of registration, hire an experienced lawyer. Payment for his services will pay off with a vengeance.

Stage 6 Reporting and paying taxes

During the registration process, you will determine the most beneficial tax payment system for you. The choice largely depends on the scope and scale of your business. Hire an experienced and qualified accountant - this is extremely important. But you yourself must have at least minimal knowledge in the field of finance. Read articles, study, without this success in business is impossible.

Stage 7. Quick idea testing

This stage can be completed before registration, although much here depends on the chosen field. As a last resort, try to conduct a rapid test before a serious investment of big money. How is testing done? At your own expense, run a minimal promotion, create a small batch of a product or offer a service, and try to sell it. Studying the demand in practice is extremely important.

Remember one of the typical mistakes? Do not rush to invest large amounts of money and do not build an ideal business right away. Create something minimal and experience how it works. If the expected result is not achieved, do not rush to abandon your idea. Perhaps the reason was hidden in the wrong planning, price, wrong assessment of the target audience. During the test, conduct a survey of consumers, find out why they do not buy your product or refuse services.

Based on the results of quick testing, you will be able to see your mistakes and make adjustments to the plan. The option of rejecting an attractive idea and searching for a new one is not excluded. This is a very important stage, it allows you to save money, effort and time for the implementation of an erroneous plan or an unclaimed idea.

Stage 8. Development

You conducted testing, adjusted the plan based on its results and began to receive the first profits. You need to start development right away. Distribute income as follows:

Cover current expenses.
Set aside a certain percentage for possible force majeure circumstances.
The rest is invested in development.
In this list, you did not notice the cost of meeting your personal needs. There is no mistake here. When planning to start a business, you had to find a source to meet the needs of the family in case of failure. Stick to this plan and don't waste the profits of your new business, it should be invested in development. Only a few adhere to this rule, this is one of the most common reasons for failure after a more or less successful start.

Stage 9 Active promotion

This is an integral part of development, but it is too important and requires a separate discussion. Everyone understands development as an increase in production capacity, expansion of the staff and the range or range of services. This is correct, but many entrepreneurs in Russia underestimate the importance of advertising and finding new markets.

It is not enough to expand the staff and capacities, all this economy must be provided with work. Don't rely on word of mouth and lame, standard marketing techniques. Use aggressive advertising, actively look for new customers by any of the methods available and possible at the moment. Use everything, but be sure to analyze the results and weed out what is not effective. Leave and develop advertising methods that bring tangible results with minimal budget costs.

10 stage. Expand your geography

You have reached the level at which the business works with dignity within the same city. Do not stop and go to the market of neighboring settlements or regions. No desire or opportunity to expand geography? Explore options with the development of a related direction, explore innovative areas. Do not stop, otherwise you will gradually begin to roll back and wait until a more enterprising and nimble competitor appears who will offer your customers more favorable conditions.

“Important Criteria for Evaluating Business Performance”

There are very clear markers by which you can determine the success of an enterprise and find dangerous mistakes at the very start. These should be taken with the utmost seriousness.

  • After a few months of work, conduct an audit. If, according to its results, you see that the business does not bring even the minimum income and even works in the red, it is not viable. Investments and loans will not save the situation, but will only aggravate your situation.
  • If actual sales are much lower than planned, immediately change the style of work or plan.
  • Building a business is a challenge. You will experience stress - this is normal only to a certain extent. If entrepreneurial activity causes you obvious and persistent discomfort, either leave the business or change your approach.

 

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